Trash bag raincoat

ABSTRACT

The trash bag raincoat is made of substantially waterproof material, having sufficient length to enclose at least the shoulder, torso and back areas of a person of a predetermined height and size range. Preferably, the trash bag raincoat includes a hood extendable from an opening along the bottom of the bag and sleeves extendable from openings in the side edges of the bag. The openings are equipped with re-sealable fasteners, so that the hood and sleeves are tucked inside the bag with the openings sealed by the fasteners for use as a trash bag. When the openings are unsealed a person can withdraw the hood and sleeve elements and wear the trash bag upside down while placing the wearer&#39;s arms through the side openings into the sleeves and placing the wearer&#39;s head through the unsealed bottom opening into the hood, thus providing rain protection for the wearer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to trash bags and rainwear, and moreparticularly to an inexpensive, waterproof and disposable trash bag,which is convertible into a rain protector or raincoat.

2. Description of the Related Art

Even with modern advances in meteorology, the weather often remainsunpredictable. Consequently, construction workers, campers, hikers,spectators of outdoor activities, travelers, school children, and otherpersons are often caught outdoors by a sudden shower or rainstormwithout appropriate raingear. Even when the weather forecast isaccurate, many people do not wish to be burdened by either wearing araincoat or carrying an umbrella when the prospect of precipitation isonly a possibility, probability, or less than a certainty, and will taketheir chances on getting wet.

When it does rain, people who haven't taken adequate precautionarymeasures will often adopt makeshift or ad hoc solutions to try to keepdry. A common expedient involves cutting a neck hole in a plastic trashbag and wearing the bag as a poncho, often trying to compromise byalternately pulling the neck opening over one's head to keep the headdry and pulling the bag down to keep the hips and waist dry.

Since plastic trash bags are often available on such occasions and arequite inexpensive, it would be desirable to have a trash bag that ismanufactured in such a manner that the trash bag is quickly and easilyconvertible into a raincoat. Thus, a trash bag raincoat solving theaforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The trash bag raincoat is made of substantially waterproof material,having sufficient length to enclose at least the shoulder, torso andback areas of a person of a predetermined height and size range.Preferably, the trash bag raincoat includes a hood extendable from anopening along the bottom of the bag and sleeves extendable from openingsin the side edges of the bag. The openings are equipped with re-sealablefasteners, so that the hood and sleeves are tucked inside the bag withthe openings sealed by the fasteners for use as a trash bag. When theopenings are unsealed a person can withdraw the hood and sleeve elementsand wear the trash bag upside down while placing the wearer's armsthrough the side openings into the sleeves and placing the wearer's headthrough the unsealed bottom opening into the hood, thus providing rainprotection for the wearer.

These and other features of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a trash bag raincoatbeing used as a raincoat according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of a trash bag raincoat according tothe present invention with the bag in an inverted position to show thelocations of the openings for the head and the arms when used as araincoat.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the trash bag raincoat according tothe present invention with the hood and sleeves extended.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the trash bag raincoat according tothe present invention with the hood and sleeves tucked into the bag andshown in phantom, the openings being sealed for use as a trash bag.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is a trash bag raincoat having re-sealableopenings at the head and arm locations and tuck-away hood and sleeveelements. Due to the convertible nature of the present invention, it canalso be viewed as having re-sealable closures at the respective head andarm locations. Conversion from trash bag to raincoat or vice versa doesnot destroy the use of the bag for either purpose. Referring to FIG. 1,in practical terms, a person who is in possession of the trash bagraincoat 100 is prepared for foul weather while still having theadvantage of having a trash bag.

Referring to FIG. 2, a trash bag raincoat 100 made of substantiallywaterproof material, e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, or other plasticmaterial, is shown. The bag 100 may be made in various sizes, and theuser should select a bag 100 having sufficient length to enclose atleast the shoulder, back and torso areas. For example, a medium heightperson with a large torso might select a large trash bag. Such a trashbag raincoat 100 has a width 127 and length 126 corresponding to aperson of medium height and large girth. The trash bag raincoat may bemade with small, medium, and large widths 127, and tall, medium andshort lengths 126. Preferably, the bag 100 will have sufficient lengthto cover the wearer below the hips, and may even extend down to belowthe wearer's knees. Such a configuration will not only keep the wearer'storso, back, arms and head dry, but will also keep most of the wearer'sclothing below the waist dry as well.

Note also that in FIG. 2, the bag is inverted, i.e., upside down, withthe top of the trash bag 120 oriented toward the bottom of the figure.It should be understood that associated with the top of the trash bag120 is a top opening 122 through which trash may be deposited when thetrash bag raincoat 100 is configured for use as a trash bag. Optionally,a drawstring 124 is included to cinch up the top opening 122 when it isdesired to close the trash bag. However, in the inverted configurationthe trash bag would be worn by a person for rain protection. Anadditional feature is that the drawstring 124 may be used to cinch upthe raincoat around the wearer's body. FIG. 2 depicts the bag havingoppositely disposed side openings 110 for sleeves. The side openings 110may be centered in a range from approximately mid-length of the bag to aposition proximate to and above the bottom 105 of the bag 100.Preferably, the side openings 110 are of sufficient size to allow thepassage of the person's arms through them.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the bottom 100 of the bag 100 has a bottomopening 115 for a hood. The bottom opening 115 is of sufficient size toallow the passage of the person's head through the opening 115.

Now referring to FIG. 3, the trash bag raincoat 100 is shown with thesleeves 125 and hood 130 in extended positions, ready for wear. In thisconfiguration, with sleeve opening fasteners 140 and bottom openfastener 145 in open, unsealed positions, a person may use the trash bagas a raincoat. In addition, the head and arms are protected from rain,since the sleeves 125 and the hood 130 are extended outside of the sideopenings 110, and the bottom opening 115 of the trash bag 100.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be noted that each of the sleeve openings110 is closed by a fastener 140 for configuring the bag 100 for use as atrash container. Preferably the fasteners 140 form a seal for theopenings 110 to prevent fluids from leaking from the bag 100, but in anyevent, have sufficient strength that the fasteners 140 will not pop openunder the weight of trash deposited into the bag. For example, fasteners140 may comprise a tongue and groove type fastening closure mechanism, ahook and loop type fastening closure mechanism, or an adhesive typefastening closure mechanism. Each of the closure mechanisms discussedabove is designed to seal off the sleeve elements 125 sufficiently sothat the bag can function effectively as a trash bag without spillage ofmaterial through the sealed openings. Additionally, the closuremechanism, i.e., fastener 140, regardless of type, may be locatedanywhere between a distal end 135 of the sleeve 125 and itscorresponding side opening 110.

Similarly, the bottom opening 115 of the bag is fitted with asubstantially watertight re-sealable fastener 145 for sealing off thehood 130, thus providing for conversion of the bag 100 to a trashcontainer. Bottom fastener 145 may be a tongue and groove type closuremechanism, a hook and loop type closure mechanism, or an adhesive typeclosure mechanism. Each of the closure mechanisms discussed above isdesigned to perform as a bottom seal 145 sufficiently so that the bag100 can function effectively as a trash bag without spillage of materialthrough the sealed bottom opening. The fasteners 140 and 145 maycomprise one or more beads disposed along one side of the openings thatsnap into grooves disposed along the opposite side of the openings,similar to Zip-loc® fasteners. It will be understood that the bottomopening 115 may be defined along the bottom edge or seam of the bag 100,or may be formed in the side panel adjacent the bottom edge or seam.

In the present invention, the manufacturing process for making the trashbag raincoat 100 may involve the same process of fusing seams that iscurrently used in the production of trash bags. The trash bag raincoat100 may be made by fusing, e.g., heat fusing, seams of at least twosheets of durable, substantially nonporous, substantially waterproof,flexible material, e.g., thermoplastic sheets, each sheet having aplanar shape, together with two sleeves 125, two oppositely disposedside openings 110, a hood 130, and a bottom opening 115.

Again referring to FIG. 3, a distal opening 150, i.e., distal to thecorresponding oppositely disposed side opening 110, is cut at eachsleeve element 125 at the distal end 135, so that a wearer's hand mayslip through the distal opening 150.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A trash bag raincoat, comprising: a bag made of substantiallywaterproof material, the bag having an open top, a bottom, and opposingside edges, the bag having an opening defined in the bottom and theopposing side edges; a hood attached to the bag adjacent the bottomopening, the hood being movable between an extended position deployedoutside the bag and a retracted position tucked within the bag; a pairof sleeves attached to the bag adjacent each of the side openings,respectively, the sleeves being movable between an extended positionoutside the bag and a retracted position tucked within the bag; andre-sealable fasteners disposed along the bottom opening and the sideedge openings; whereby the bag is configurable for use as a trash bagwith the sleeves and the hood in the retracted position and thefasteners sealed, and configurable for use as a raincoat with the hoodand the sleeves in the extended position, the fasteners being unsealed.2. The trash bag raincoat according to claim 1, wherein said re-sealablefasteners comprise tongue and groove fastening closure mechanisms. 3.The trash bag raincoat according to claim 1, wherein said re-sealablefasteners comprise mating hook and loop fasteners.
 4. The trash bagraincoat according to claim 1, wherein said re-sealable fastenerscomprise adhesive fasteners.
 5. The trash bag raincoat according toclaim 1, wherein said bag is made from plastic.
 6. The trash bagraincoat according to claim 1, wherein said bag is made frompolyethylene.
 7. The trash bag raincoat according to claim 1, whereinsaid bag is made from polypropylene.
 8. The trash bag raincoat accordingto claim 1, further comprising a drawstring disposed around the open topof the bag.
 9. A trash bag raincoat, comprising: a bag made ofsubstantially waterproof material, the bag having an open top, a bottom,and opposing side edges, the bag having an opening defined in thebottom; a hood attached to the bag adjacent the bottom opening, the hoodbeing movable between an extended position deployed outside the bag anda retracted position tucked within the bag; and means for re-sealablyfastening the bottom opening; whereby the bag is configurable for use asa trash bag with the hood in the retracted position, and configurablefor use as a raincoat with the hood in the extended position.
 10. Thetrash bag raincoat according to claim 9, wherein said bag has openingsdefined in the side edges, the trash bag raincoat further comprising: apair of sleeves attached to the bag adjacent each of the side openings,respectively, the sleeves being movable between an extended positionoutside the bag and a retracted position tucked within the bag; andmeans for re-sealably fastening the side edge openings.
 11. The trashbag raincoat according to claim 10, wherein said means for re-sealablyfastening the bottom and side edge openings comprises tongue and groovefastening closure mechanisms.
 12. The trash bag raincoat according toclaim 9, wherein said bag is made from plastic.
 13. A trash bagraincoat, comprising: a bag made of substantially waterproof material,the bag having an open top, a bottom, and opposing side edges, the baghaving a bottom opening and openings defined in the opposing side edges;a pair of sleeves attached to the bag adjacent each of the sideopenings, respectively, the sleeves being movable between an extendedposition outside the bag and a retracted position tucked within the bag;and means for re-sealably fastening the bottom opening and the opposingside edge openings; whereby the bag is configurable for use as a trashbag with the sleeves in the retracted position, and configurable for useas a raincoat with the sleeves in the extended position.
 14. The trashbag raincoat according to claim 13, further comprising a hood attachedto the bag adjacent the bottom opening, the hood being movable betweenan extended position deployed outside the bag and a retracted positiontucked within the bag.
 15. The trash bag raincoat according to claim 13,wherein said means for re-sealably fastening the bottom and side edgeopenings comprises tongue and groove fastening closure mechanisms. 16.The trash bag raincoat according to claim 13, wherein said bag is madefrom plastic.